John Michael Carter was born in Chicago, Illinois. At 16 he started his first studies in drawing under his father E.L.Carter, a commercial artist . In 1968 he attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Carter moved to Los Angeles in 1970 where he went to the Art Center College of Design. For a decade he taught drawing and painting for the University of Kentucky at Jefferson Community College in Louisville, Ky. Since 1975 he has had 39 one man shows. He has exhibited with Grand Central Gallery in New York ; the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the Amarillo Art Center, Amarillo ,Texas; DeVille Gallery in Los Angeles,, California, J. Todd Gallery , Wellesley Massachusetts; Meyer Gallery in Santa Fe and Miller Gallery in Cincinnati Ohio among others. Mr. Carter has shown paintings in many national exhibitions and competitions including Arts for the Parks, the . 1991 Hubbard Museum Award for Excellence exhibition and the Artitsts of America show in Denver. Carter has recieved numerous awards for his paintings. His painting "The Yellow Canary" won first prize at the 2004 O.P.A. National Exhibition. "The Dressing Table" was awarded Best Impressionistic Oil at the 2004 Hoosier Salon. "Romanian Girl " was a finalist in the 2005 Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition. He received first prize at the 2005 Hoosier Salon for his painting " Reading on the Veranda".